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Oldsmobile Aurora: Modifications
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blk97, I read most the reviews myself and they alone really turn me on to the tire lol. They say they make them in 255/50/17 but tirerack doesnt have them. Gonna look more. I dont drive a whole lot anyways. About 10k a year. Though most of that is pretty hard miles lol.
Looking for other opinions on 18" rims myself. What I really want is like Infinti's I35 6-spokes? I just really like the look big 6-spokes give the Aurora.
As I mention in the previous post, any help finding 18" 6-spoke wheels would be really appreciated.
Most tire manufacturers publish "approved" or "design" wheel width for each of their tire sizes. I think that's the best guideline for you as far as wheel width for a specific tire size. For my Continental P255/50ZR17s that width is 7.0 to 9.0 inches; so the stock 01+ 17s at 7.5" diameter are OK.
Stock offset for Classic 16x7 and 01+ 17x7.5 wheels is 51mm. That means the extra width of the 01+ wheels is equally divided -- 0.25" to the inside and 0.25" to the outside of the hub mounting surface.
Javidogg mounted 255/35-20 tires on Enkei Capone wheels and reports no interference problems. The Enkeis are 8.5" wide with 43mm offset. The 43mm offset (compared to stock 51mm) moves most of the additional width to the outside.
I have not been able to find any reference that defines what wider tires and wheels will work with a specific car. When I mounted my 255s, I was a bit concerned, but it has worked out well. Knowing that Javidogg had had no problems with his tire/wheel package was a big help.
So 255 are gonna be okay, I will get you all some pictures for you to see what I mean.
Peace.
Http://www.cardomain.com/id/javidogg
Most exactly what I wanted (could be cleaner but oh well). Those with the GS-D3 and my copper mist at sunset in Miami will look like its alive! lol
ive been thinking of selling them, not sure yet. i might wait till i put my eibachs on in the spring to see what they look like, yep found a set of very slightly used eibachs for $130 AFTER shipping
I'm diggin that chrome lip on them,
That's one thing I like about my wheels, they have the chrome lip on them.
As for the tires look into some Michelin's, Pirelli's, Dunlop's, Yokohamas or Continental's or like the ones I got "Nitto eXtreme NT555's".
You might want to stay away from tire brands like Khumo, Nankang, Falken and Ventus.
If your upsizing in wheels, you might as well go with some thing nice, at least that's what I think.
Keep us posted with what you go with.
Peace.
Http://www.cardomain.com/id/javidogg
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/gy_f1_gs_d3.jsp
If you look the at the graph numbers, it dominated the actually performance categories. I'd give a tiny bit of dry traction for the massive gains you get in the wet from the GS-D3s esp. here in S. Fl.
Now my rear shocks are manual fill, but its better than using the dead air compressor (that didnt do anything)
Anyways. Now i have another problem am I'm really hoping that someone can help.
I was inspecting the EGR vavle, and after I reinstalled it I accidentally broke an air line running under the hood.
The line runs to the large triangle shaped box thats mounted directly above the ignition coils. I know the air line was working because right after the line broke I heard air escaping for a moment. I cannot find where the air line came from. I removed the box and it has some numbers on the back, but I cant find any info regarding this on the internet.
I need to know wtf this box even does, and more importantly what line runs to it.
Hopefully someone will know, thanks.
Anyway, I decided to try SilverStars, but to get more light from them, I modified two 9005 bulbs to fit the 9006 socket. This only raises the wattage from 55 watts to 65 watts (9006's have a max of 60 watts in case there is some variance), so I don't think there will be too much current through the system. 9005's also put out 1700 lumens instead of the 1000 that 9006 bulbs put out. HID's put out about 3000 lumens and use about 35-40 watts (though when they first fire, the wattage is temporarily higher, like fluorescents).
Because I have projector beams, I think this is a safe upgrade and won't bother oncoming drivers. Very little light is projected up at drivers. Projector beams have a very well defined beam cutoff at about headlamp height. This means it can be very difficult to read street name signs on unlit roads. Almost none of the headlamp light gets up there. I have to flick the highs on to see them, which I can't do when traffic is oncoming.
I may or may not get HID's some time in the future. In the mean time, this is a cheap way to get an idea of what more light is like. HID projector beams have a different pattern, though. Since they have more light to work with, they cast it more evenly across the whole beam. Halogen projectors cast more light in the center and less to the sides since a halogen bulb doesn't have as much light to work with. So a switch to HIDs will put more light down on the road, but it won't change this pattern much. It won't be the even light of OEM HID's or of HID kits that include new projectors.
Here are my lamps stock:
Here I put a 9005 SilverStar on the left side. Note the beam pattern has changed a bit. I rotated the bulb around to adjust this, but it was still a bit different (it's a different bulb afterall) than the stock pattern:
Here you can see the whole after effect. I had adjusted both bulbs at this point. Notice how bright or dark the wall is. These first three shots were taken in a closed garage with the overhead lights on. So the relative intensity of the beams caused the camera to expose the shot differently, which results in the wall being lighter or darker. This is a clue as to how much brighter the 9005's are, even though the photo doesn't make them look much brighter.
Here is a rather crappy shot where I backed the car up so you can see the actual cut-off of the beams. You won't get this with regular reflector beams, and I wouldn't try this if I didn't have projectors:
And lastly, here is a shot of the car with the high-beams on. Notice how much brighter they are, but also how much higher up they cast their light. They are awesome, and light up everything:
I'll let you know how I like it more long-term. On our trip back from vacation, it was on a lot of pitch-black roads with no lighting, and rainy. The low-beams are pretty good, and the central beams cast out a pretty long way. The high-beams light up the road practically as far as it goes. In fact, the dazzle back off of street signs is fairly intense. Good stuff...
I forgot to mention them, also the BFGoodrich (the high performance ones) and Bridgestone (also the high performance ones).
Man, the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3's, look super nice.
I see they make them up to a size 21, nice.
Good Choice.
Let me know how you like them.
Peace.
I say look into an HID kit in the future though, for even better lighting at night, you know you are not going to have a problem blinding other drivers anyway.
Nice work.
PEace.
Henri
I've got the Dunlop SP Sport A2's on my '98 - put them on in 2002 at around 40K mi, replacing the toasted MXV4's that were on the car. I'm now up to 75K miles, and, though they are a little loud, they are still handling and cornering well. The treadlife is getting a little low - we haven't had much snow and ice here in the upper Midwest yet - but I hope to make it through the winter with these, and part of next summer, before replacing them. Will I get the SP Sport A2's again? I'm leaning that way, but will also look at Bridgestone Turanzas...
HATE EM!
I also have the Silverstars now for a year and they are great. You should enjoy them. I may try the Goodyears next tire purchase.
Thanks,
Steve
Thanks!
Just what I think.
Henri
On my previous car, a Ford Probe GT, when my very high quality (and satisfying) Dunlop D40M2 tires wore out, I looked around an replacements (the D40s being out of production). Intrigued by a high performance tire for a bargain price, I chose the Kumhos. I was extremely dissapointed. First off, even though they were the same size and aspect ratio, the treadwidth was noticably narrower than the Dunlops (or the OEM Eagle GTs). That alone caused some loss of handling, plus I found that the grip of the rubber just didn't seem up to par. My winter Bridgestone Blizzaks (which were a -1 conversion size) handled just as well.
Based on my experience, I would run, not walk away from Kumho. I think they are a good example of "you get what you pay for."
anyway, another consideration of tire size, not sure where you live, but a 225/60/16 would be better in the snow than a 235/60/16. and we don't have sports cars, so the extra width isn't really needed to much. if you live were it snows alot in the winter, a 225 may be a better choice.
nothing beats silverstars for the money though, $50 isnt to much. i put them in my moms 2003 bravada and the difference is insane, i think they have projector lights, maybe they help more in the projectors. but know everyone in my family has the silverstars after seeing what they did to my moms truck. i prefer the white light over blue or yellow too, nothing beats the blue/purple of a REAL HID though
but i just feel like rambling........:)
You can see all the photos here: http://photo.starblvd.net/aurora402002?st=album&pg=1 though they have no descriptions or anything. The light photos are in order there just as they are listed here. Sorry if that's a pain, no idea what's up with it.
I mentioned it in my post, but I'll mention it again as it seems maybe it wasn't clear. I did not just replace my bulbs with Silverstars. The stock headlamps are 9006 bulbs which draw 55 watts and put out 1000 lumens. The 9006 Silverstars also have the same basic specs, but have whiter light (though there is some tolerance in the specs for a 9006, so it could be the SilverStars are at the higher end of the spec if they are made with tighter quality control, thus they may actually put out more light than less quality 9006's).
However, what I put in my low-beam lights were SilverStar 9005 bulbs. I could have put in 9005 HalogenPlus's and it would have also gotten brighter, though the light color would have been the same (my original 9006's are HalogenPlus's).
The 9005 bulb draws 65 watts and puts out 1700 lumens. So a 9005 SilverStar would make a lot more light (due to being a 9005 bulb) and also have whiter light (due to being a SilverStar).
A 9005 bulb won't just pop into a 9006 socket, so some modification to the bulb must be made. The 9005 also doesn't have a shielded end, like a 9006 does, so the light pattern will change a bit, though it didn't seem to degrade much for me, and the extra amount of light definitely makes up for it.
If I get snow's I'd definitely consider 16" wheels for them. We need a house first, though, so I have somewhere to store them...
The sable Wagon (89) that I'm driving for the winter has the WORST headlights and beam pattern I can recall driving behind except for the old 71 Maverick grabber 302 that a friend and I rescuded from a field and used to go bracket racing before we ripped the frame apart with a liitle to much modified horsepower.
This one is from the right front side of the Aurora, notice there is still about an inch and a half of clearance.
This shows the right rear of the Aurora, notice how here you have at least about 2 inches or more in clearance, this is were I got that idea about adding some 21" wheels in the future.
Here you have the Enkie and OEM wheels side by side.
You can see more pictures here
Http://www.cardomain.com/id/javidogg
just go to page 7.
Peace.
There not bad at all, they have a different look to them and they still light up amber to stay legal of course.
I downloaded the picture of the headlights for a wallpaper.
Nice thinking.
Peace.
only 1 way to get rid of the gap
drop it
with a 99 you'd have to go custom, i plan on putting my eibachs on in the spring, ill remember to take some before pics w/oem rims, before w/ the 18's, then some after pics. that won't be till around the end of march though, maybe april....depends on how long the snow stays.
nice looking aurora!
I'll lokk into some eibachs in the future also.
Thanks MrDubya and Henry,
Keep up the good work.
Peace.
Henri
javidogg, the eibachs were only made for 95-96's. no idea why only those years, but they also discontinued them a few years back. rsmracing is selling custom springs that take about 8 weeks to get for $500. personally, i think rsm is a rip off on just about everything, but you gotta do what you gotta do. domesticperformance . com sells the rsm springs too, and they sell complete coil-over kits so the handling gets much better, and the firmness/height is adjustable. pretty expensive though, and there websites been offline for about 5 days now.
I have not been able to find a decent price on them on the web, I do like the Brembo brake products.
Peace.
I finally got around and took some pictures of the beam pattern from my HELLA HID kit,
Here are a few.
1. These one show the HID kit at first it lights up a violet color when it's cold.
2. These one shows the HID kit turning a bit whiter.
3. Here you have the Kit fully warmed up after like 40 seconds or so, notice how bright white it gets.
I think the beam pattern stays mainly all over the ground and it does not blind on coming traffic.
Let me know what you think.
Peace.
or is it just illegal to sell it?, so there's really no way to control it (you could say you've had it for a while)
looks good though, hard to see how much it lights up the road with it pointing at the wall, shows the beam pattern ok though
I want to make clear that the Kumho tires I had my bad experience with were not tires for an Aurora -- they were for my previous car. The tire model in question, the Ecsta Supra 712, is an ultra high performance tire meant for sports cars. I was very dissapointed with them.
I don't know how their other tires are, but based on my experience I think that overall Kumhos may be cheap and lower quality than the more expensive brands. I am a firm beliver, when it comes to tires, that "you get what you pay for."
I have the Dunlops A2s on my Aurora and like them a lot.
The NHSTA/DOT made all aftermarket HID kits illegal since August 15,2003. There main reason the NHTSA made them illegal is because they do not have a filament on these kits out there, so they just made all Kits illegal.
After 8/15/03, there will be a $5,000 fine PER DAY for vendors selling HID kits.
NHSTA even investigated and are thinking about banning Xenarc ( http://www.sylvania.com/xenarc/prodinfo.htm ) kits as well... and those were specially designed! They want to outlaw anything that isn't already on the car for HID.
Their whole regulation process is based on the location of a filament. Since all halogen "replacements" have to conform to a halogen standard, HID fails the first requirement of having a filament being in a specific location. HID does not have a filament!
This was a topic that was being talked about on HIDforums.com;
NHSTA has been investigating since last November:
"Headlamp Glare":
In September 2001, NHTSA requested public comment on how to respond to public complaints about headlamp glare. NHTSA now intends to propose new lighting rules by mid-2003. The rules will address consumer complaints regarding perceived glare from high intensity discharge headlights (HIDs), HID knock-offs, and higher-mounted and front-mounted auxiliary lamps (ex: fog lamps). NHTSA has acknowledged that there are a myriad of issues associated with glare. For example, it cited a possibility that many drivers look directly at HIDs because they are unfamiliar with the light, and thus experience glare. SEMA is working with NHTSA and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) to identify verifiable safety issues and provide practical solutions to consumer complaints.
Personally I think, that Local Law enforcemnet have better things to do than to crack down on some person driving down the street trying to investigate if this person has an OEM HID kit or an aftermarket HID kit, I have not heard anything were it has become a illegal to own an HID kit because it's not OEM.
If anything they should ban those high wattage blue bulbs that cause glare to on coming drivers, that usually are found all over ebay and those import tunning stores and not an original HID kit, Now don't get me wrong there is legal aftermarket bulbs like Sylvania Silverstar which have been tested and passed by the DOT, those I would buy if I did not want to spend money on an HID Kit.
I don't know if because of this "Quality" aftermarket HID kit prices are gonna go up or down, I don't if it's a good thing that I got mine when I learned about this, but oh well.
Peace.
I will be looking for my fog 893 lights.
Peace.
The 3M film is great stuff and comes in big rolls. A lot of different vendors offer kits based on this film. They just cut it to fit various things. I got Xpel protectors, so they basically did the cutting and selling of it.
Here is the Xpel site. They have headlamp kits for the new and classic Aurora. The kit covers the two headlamps and the two foglamps. http://www.xpel.com/products/default.asp
I actually bought my Xpel kit from a different vendor, because they sell it for less: http://www.properautocare.com/headsaffil.html You could call them and ensure it's still the Xpel kit. It was back when I bought them. They also sell stuff you can use to restore your headlamps a bit before sealing them with the film.
Here's a shot of my beautiful headlamps before the film (no, I don't have any specific after shots):
Thanks,
Javs.
While the system sounds nice, I believe Greg or Rob mentioned that it did not actually improve performance. In fact, if I remember correctly, there was a debate on whether the system actually decreased performance of the car. The same was true of the getting the larger throttle body from Canada.
Just something to think about.
I am certain that if I got this wrong, Greg or Rob or some other Aurorian will correct the information.
Henri a.k.a. "NJ Stock Exhaust"
I had a bad cat that was hollowing itself out and could tell by the tire spin on the 1-2 shift when I finished cleaning the cat. out while waiting for a new walker cat. that back pressure was significant. I figured I'd see some performance drop when I put the new cat. on(I saw no reason to put up with the raspy exhaust note while spewing pollutants out the pipe of a daily driver)and there seemed to be some so I will take the rest of my hoarded pieces of stainless steel pipe scrap from work and weld them into a new system when I finish timeserting the block for a woman at work with a neglected cooling system and a blown (really blown) head gasket. Three of the holes not two were actually bad but of course as long as the head is off I'll do all of them.
The Dunlops had decent reviews on TireRack when I bought them (locally) two years ago, but the recent reviews gripe about treadwear (some people complaining about tire replacement at 18-25k! Makes my 40+k miles not so bad).
I'm looking at the Bridgestone Turanza LS-H's and the new Continental ContiPremierContact (which gets rave ratings on TireRack). Anyone have any experience with either of these on an Aurora? I'm running the 16" stock chromes.
There goes half my tax return :-(
--Robert